A REFORMED guns and cocaine smuggler will take the plunge to swim four miles of the Thames Estuary to raise cash for charity.

Sid Wright, 60, from Leigh, will be swimming between Southend Pier and Leigh Marina on Saturday.

He will be raising money for Help for Heroes, a charity which supports soldiers and their families.

His daughter, Krystal Wright, 26, said: “He was walking through town and saw some people raising money for the charity.

“He got talking to them and decided to do the swim to raise some extra money.

“My grandad fought in the Second World War and was in the D-Day landings so my dad grew up listening to his stories.

“If there was any charity that he felt close to, it would be one for soldiers.”

Mr Wright is an author, his latest book the Last London Gangster being published earlier this year.

Mr Wright discovered his flair for writing after being imprisoned in 2008 for his part in smuggling guns and two kilos of cocaine into the country.

He flew his Cessna light aircraft near Bradfield, which was then collected by associates on the ground.

The book is loosely based on his life story.

He was recently released and is now a reformed character, according to his daughter.

She and other family members will be cheering him on as he undertakes the feat.

“I am confident he will finish it,” his daughter added.

“He is stubborn and all the men in my family are really good swimmers.

“I’m not keen, but my uncle still goes swimming in the sea every day even in winter and he is nearly 70.

“My family lived on Tenerife for a while and my mum would joke that dad was off to swim around the island.”

Mr Wright believes he can do the swim in two hours, but Krystal isn’t so sure.

“He hasn’t done any training for it - I think he thinks he is still 30 and can do it quickly.

“I reckon it will be closer to two-and-a-half hours.

“I think he is looking forward to it.

“He is trying to play it down. I think he is excited, but secretly he is quite nervous to see how he finds it. He likes a challenge.”

He will set off from the end of Southend Pier at about noon and will have collection buckets there for people to donate.